Sa Porsche & Pancakes - Black Mountain

Driving Tour Staging

Hosted by the always-engaging and entertaining (and Arizona Region member) Mark Shevitz, the Concours d'Elegance and PCA National Awards Banquet on Tuesday evening featured an address by PCA President Tom Gorsuch, talks from Porsche and PCNA dignitaries, and the presentation of national awards: The Lazar Blanchard PCA Enthusiast of the Year, The Porsche Family of the Year, The Ferry Porsche Trophy for PCA Region of the Year, The Zone Representatives Award, and The Porsche Concours d'Elegance Awards. See list of award winners here: https://www.porscheparade.org//concours-results-2022

A tradition each year at this banquet is to ask everyone to stand, then sit based on the number of PCA Parades they have attended. Of the 800+ in attendance, our Arizona Region friends Rob and Kerry Biddle were among the last standing! Check out the video: https:// www.facebook.com/PorscheParade/videos/752838126155766

It was a long day for Debbie and me, so we ducked out early so we could get some sleep before the alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. the next morning.

Wednesday-Thursday

Though mornings were busy, once the last tour group departed we had a chance to relax and took time to socialize with friends old and new, and checked out the Hospitality area and Parade Store (I found a nice event polo that goes well with my mostly red-andblack Porsche wardrobe!). I was glad to have a chance to say “Hi” to Charlotte Chirinos, who was in charge of the store, and who as PCA Member Services Manager has been my “Most Valuable Resource” whenever our club has had a question or issue that required attention from the National office. She is always responsive, conscientious, and a delight to work with.

Most afternoons were free and offered time for us to head out in our Nissan Kicks rental vehicle to explore the area, following routes suggested in “Destination Drives” Greg had developed for those who chose not to participate in the guided driving tours or who wished to head out on their own to a destination not covered by the guided tours. On Thursday we took the scenic drive to Jim Thorpe, PA, a town renamed in 1954 in honor of the famous athlete whose exploits in the early 1900s made him a national hero. Jim Thorpe, the town, is quaint and historic, with its major feature being the Lehigh Railway that hauled coal from the mines in the area. The railway now offers tours in historic rail cars through the scenic Lehigh Gorge.

Being architecture buffs, Debbie and I took a tour of the Asa Packer mansion that overlooks the town. The Mansion was the home of philanthropist, railroad magnate, and founder of Lehigh University, Asa Packer. Built in 1861, the home consists of three stories, 18 rooms, and approximately 11,000 square feet of living space, and was constructed over a span of two years at a total cost of $14,000. It is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Another Destination Drive led parade-goers to the Martin Guitar Museum and factory in Nazareth, PA. (If you follow American auto racing you know that Nazareth is the home town of the famous Andretti racing family, but surprisingly there is no museum or other tribute to Mario or his family of racers in the town.) We took the drive to Nazareth on Thursday with Greg. He had made arrangements for a personal tour with Matt Kennedy, nephew of current Martin Executive Chairman Chris Martin, and a member of the CF Martin board of directors. Chris and Matt are Porsche owners and came out for the Concours on Monday. Our tour with Matt took us behind the scenes for an in-depth look at how the iconic instruments are made by the skilled craftsmen and women who have perfected the art of guitar production. It became obvious why a Martin guitar is considered the Porsche of the guitar world. I am as much into guitars as I am Porsches, so this was like getting a personal tour of the factory in Stuttgart by someone named “Porsche.”

Friday

We said our good-byes to Greg and others whom we had worked with, and left after the last tours went out on Friday. So we were not around for Saturday’s Parade of Porsches, which took 300 cars to Pocono Raceway for a lap around the famous track. The racetrack venue was also the site of the Parade autocross competition that ran on Wednesday and Thursday. We had accompanied Greg on a test run of the route earlier in the week, so got a preview of what the parade of cars would see along the way before they entered the racing facility and circuited the high-speed track. Look for the video on PCA media sites!

Miscellaneous Thoughts

We found several local eateries that we went back to for breakfast, lunch, or dinner several times during our stay. Great to discover local places and try favorite foods (and beers!) recommended in a part of the country we had never visited before.

We saw lots of deer. Cute, yes, but unfortunately there were quite a few that hadn’t made it in their attempts to cross the roads that wound through the dense forests in the area. Made for a somewhat tense feeling as we were driving the scenic roads. Of interest these days, we found regular gas for $4.99/gallon just about everywhere we went.

I had met Greg Halverson several years ago when he was visiting the Valley and he came out to one of our region’s breakfast gatherings. In our association and collaborations since then I have come to respect his leadership and “get it done” style in his position as both National Driving Tour Chair and Parade Driving Tour Chair. It was a pleasure to work as his assistant to ensure the Parade tours went off with virtually no issues, despite challenges.

It’s not too early to start planning for Parade 2023, which will be closer to home in Palm Springs. We are looking forward to the June 2023 date, when we will be driving a Porsche!